Drying and heating apparatus



Aug. 17, 1937. wHlPPERMAN 2,090,523

DRYING AND HEATING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 25, 1934 INVENTORFRANK. WHIPPERMAN.

BY a

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 17, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Originalapplication August 23, 1934, Serial No. 741,073. Divided and thisapplication May 18,

1936, Serial No. 80,347

2 Claims.

This invention has to do with the art of drying and heating apparatus ingeneral and particularly with apparatus for drying and heating granularmaterial such as carbonaceous fuels 5 and the like in the method. ofmaking fuel-blocks described in my application for patent therefor ofAugust 23, 1934, Serial Number 741,073, of which this application is adivision, the agitating mixer herein described being fully described 710 in my application therefor Serial No. 12,710 filed March 23, 1935,now matured into Patent #2,045,1'70, issued June 23, 1936, saidapplication having also been divided out of the original applicationfiled August 23, 1934, above referred to.

Briefly, the above mentioned method of making fuel-blocks consists inthe drying and heating of granular fuel material such as coal and cokescreenings and fines and the like by pocketing or smothering therein hotcombustion prodr ucts from a suitable source of supply, mixing moltenasphaltic binder with the dried and heated fuel material, and thenblocking the hot mixed material.

To satisfactorily prepare the granular fuel material for blocking orbriquetting substantially all the moisture contained therein mustbedriven therefrom andthe material heated to a suitable temperature formixing with the molten binder.

In preparing the granular fuel material for blocking in the making offuel-blocks, great difficulty has been experienced in drying and heatingsaid material, particularly when the moisture content thereof is high asin certain lignites and petroleum coke wherein often as much as 3 fortyor fifty per cent of moisture may be present.

Economical and eflicient carrying out of any method of makingfuel-blocks requires the rapid treatment of the granular fuel materialto a high temperature to quickly dry and. heat same to reduce to aminimum the consumption of fuel required for said drying and heating ofsaid material.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide apparatus of thischaracter for thoroughly drying the fuel particles, heating the samesufficiently to insure the uniform coating of the particles with moltenbinder, and eliminating from the product water and certain volatiles anddeleterious ingredients such as sulphur, gas et 50 cetera, and utilizingthe heating values of such eliminated constituents to furnish aportion'of the heat required for the preparing operation and therebyeffecting the drying and heating of the material with a minimumexpenditure offuel.

A further object of my invention istoprovide such an apparatus whereinthe heat and flames from a furnace or other suitable source of supplywill be properly directed to provide a maximum of heat in thefuel-material.

A further object is to provide apparatus of this character that isrelatively inexpensive to manufacture and install and that is simple inconstruction and operation.

Other objects of my invention will appear in the following detaileddescription taken in, connection with the accompanying drawing where-The figure is a vertical section through the furnace and operativelyassociated agitating mixer.

Referring more particularly to the drawing which shows the preferredembodiment of my invention, the drying, heating and expulsion ofvolatile and vaporous matter from the granular fuel material is effectedin an agitating mixer having a cylindrical body Ill closed at the endsby end members or walls I I. The body I!) is provided with a centralopening I2 in the top thereof through which granular fuel-material to beheated and dried is admittedfrom a supply hopper I3. Doors M areprovided at the lower end of the hopper I3 and said doors may be openedto permit fuel-materialto pass from the hopper into the cylindricalbody. The doors M are normally closed to retain the next batch offuelm-aterial in said hopper until the previous batch has been treatedin the mixer and discharged therefrom and the mixer is ready to receivethe succeeding batch of material. An outlet I5 is provided in the lowerbody wall through which treated fuel material is discharged into areoeiving hopper I6 of a blocking machine, not shown, upon the openingof a door H which normally closes said outlet I5. Agitation of materialsin the cylindrical body is effected by a plurality of part-helicalblades I8 mounted on supporting arms I9 secured to a square shaft 20rotatably mounted centrally of the cylindrical body. Each blade isprovided with a. flangeZI extending outwardly and slightly downwardlyfrom the lower edge thereof.

Heat for drying and heating the batch of material in the mixer issupplied from a furnace 22 preferably positioned beneath the mixerthoughit may be placed at the rear thereof or in any U other suitableposition. The mixer body is provided with an inlet 23 adapted to receivehot combustion products downwardly into said body from conduit 24 of thefurnace, said conduit being an integral part of the furnace andhavingits outlet 25, of reduced dimensions, in register with the inlet 23 ofthe mixer. The conduit 24 has a fire-brick arch 26 at the top thereofwhich directs the heat, gases and flames from the combustion chamber 21of the furnace downwardly into the mixer. Said conduit is also providedwith a wall or baffle 27, transversely pointed at the top 28, saidpointed top extending into the archway 25, at the highest point thereof.

The upper point 28 of the baffle 21 is higher than the lower edge 29 ofthe arch so that heat, gases and flames of the furnace are directeddownwardly and not directly across the top portion of the mixer and outthe outlet 30 thereof.

The bottom or ash-pit doors of the furnace, not shown, are normally keptclosed. A blower 3| delivers air into the ash-pit 32 through an opening33 in the furnace wall, whereby forced draft may be applied to thefurnace and the volume of air passing through said furnace effectivelyregulated.

In drying and heating granular fuel material in the mixer said materialis thoroughly agitated, rolled and tumbled therein by the blades whichcarry the material upwardly in the body of the mixer and drop same down.as said blades approach the upper regions of the body. The heat andgases from the furnace are somewhat compressed as they pass through thereduced or constricted outlet 32 of the conduit and as they leave theconduit they expand in the mixer. The constriction of outlet 32compresses the combustion products, increasing the temperature thereofand adding to the velocity. thereof into the mixer. Said combustionproducts are directed almost directly downwardly by the arch of theconduit, directly into the agitated mass of fuel-material in the lowerportion of the mixer and the material dropped from the blades thereofcover and pocket or smother said combustion products. The blades thenagitate the heat and gases and fuel material and thoroughly mix sametogether.

In this manner the material is dried and the Wet gases and vapors fromthe material escape from the mass of material and pass out the outlet38. The blades are diametrically opposed to each other in the mixer.While the upper blade is dropping material to pocket or smother the hotcombustion products and passing the inlet 23, the opposite blade isapproaching said inlet.

During a brief interval, after one blade has passed the inlet 23 and theopposite blade has not reached the outlet 30, no barrier is presented tothe heat and other combustion products entering the inlet and a portionthereof will pass from the inlet, into the mixer, and leave through theoutlet without being mixed with the material in the machine. A draft isthereby created which clears the upper part of the mixer of all moistvapor and gases. The rising blade then passes the outlet 30 and dropsmaterial from the flange, stopping the direct passage of heat and gasfrom the inlet across the upper portion of the body and out throughoutlet 30. Due to the blades not extending the entire length of the bodyof the machine there is a slight draft about the inner ends of theblades at all times to aid in the expulsion from,

the machine of moist vapors and gases driven from the material beingtreated.

It is found inpractice that by supplying sufficient heat to the mixer bythe burning of outside coal or other fuel to evaporate the moisture inthe granular fuel-material in the machine and raising the temperaturethereof by pocketing or smothering said heat,and flames, in the materialthe direct application to and generation of heat within the materialitself.

Also, bythe described mode of operation, discharge of unburned volatilesand dust into the air is avoided, and there is no liability or danger ofexplosions by accidental ignition of dust, or unburned volatilesexpelled from the granular fuel material by the heating thereof to thetemperatures desirable for mixing with binder material and for theblocking of said material.

Ignition and burning of. the material itself is prevented by theconstant tumbling and agitation thereof by the blades and the drying andheating is so controlled that the temperature of the material beingtreated may be raised in the mixer to any desired point at which saidmaterial is best suited for mixture with the binder and for blocking.

The drying and heating apparatus herein described may also be used todry other granular material such as sand and minerals and it will dryand heat such materials much more eifec tively than can be effected withpresent apparatus.

My drying and heating apparatus isrelatively simple and inexpensive tomanufacture and the cost of drying and heating granular material,particularly granular fuel material is very low as compared with presentapparatus.

It is, of course, to be understood that the invention may be constructedin other manners and the parts associated in other relations, andtherefore, I do not desire to be limited in any manner except as setforth in the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In drying and heating apparatus for gran ular material, thecombination, an agitating mixer having a horizontal, substantiallycylindrical body with an inlet for hot combustion products adjacent thetop thereof and to one side of the Vertical center and an outlet formoist vapors, said inlet being adapted to admit thehot combustionproducts downwardly into said body, a plurality of blades extendinglongitudinally of the body and rotatable therein to'agitate and mixgranular material therein, a furnace in close association with the mixerfor supplying hot combustion products, including flames, to the mixerbody, a conduit connecting the furnace with the mixer body, said conduitbeing short enough to permit flames from the furnace to enter themixerbody and reach the lower portion of said body, and means for directingsaid hot combustion products, including flames, downwardly through theinlet.

2. In drying and heating apparatus for granular material, thecombination, an agitating mixer having a drical body with an inlet forhot combustion products adjacent the top thereof and an outlet forvapors, said inlet being adapted to admit said hot combustion productsdownwardly into the horizontal, substantially cylin-- body of the mixer,a plurality of rotatably mounted longitudinally extending mixer bladesadapted to agitate granular material in the mixer, a furnace in closeassociation with the mixer, a conduit connecting the furnace and themixer body, said conduit being short enough to permit flames to enterthe body from the furnace and reach the lower portion of said body,

said conduit being arched adjacent the upper end to direct hotcombustion products downwardly into the mixer body, and a transversebaffle inthe arch with the upper end of said baffle positioned above theouter edge of the arch opening to prevent said hot combustion productsfrom passing laterally outwardly from the conduit.

FRANK WI-HPPERMAN.

